The Wedding Of Felicity And Ben
by Commander Cody CC-2224
Summary: The story of the wedding of Felicity Merriman and Benjamin Davidson. A story for all Lissie/Ben fans. Enjoy.
1. Preface

_**The Wedding Of Felicity And Ben**_

_**Preface**_

* * *

For a long time devoted fans of Felicity the American have always speculated as to what she would do throughout her love life with Ben. Various stories about their wedding have been made, though not much detail had been made about it. So this was where I decided to settle the score regarding the much asked question over whether Felicity and Ben would get married. (In my universe, which I for the most part consider the fairly realistic universe, they do.)

The reason behind the writing of this wedding story of Lissie and Ben was for the purposes of commemorating marriage in the spirit of the definition involving a temporal and eternal bonding between one man and one woman. In an age and society where homosexual marriages (a.k.a. "gay" marriages) are tolerated and even condoned, and divorce, ranging from limited to no-fault, gets rampant, and feminism plays a major part in society on the part of most women as a result of the moral decadence that sprung up from the cultural and sexual revolutions of the 1960s, it gets pretty harder and harder to find people who adhere to longtime tradition prior to the 60s. So I wanted to bring into the world of imagination a time when teenage boys had loads of confidence when talking with teenage girls, which seems to be the opposite of today, and a time when teenagers could fall in love and get married and not so much have the deleterious effects that could very well take place in today's society. In the technological age such times are extraordinarily rare.

For longtime fans of Felicity the American Girl, this story is some sort of ideal love moment.


	2. CHAPTER 1 Haste To The Wedding

_**The Wedding Of Felicity And Ben**_

**Written By:**_** Commander Cody CC-2224**_

CHAPTER 1

Haste To The Wedding

Felicity Merriman slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Her head was whirring, almost making her forget what day of the year it was. When she got her head back into focus, she was able to remember what day it was.

And truth be told, it was a very special day. One very special in her life.

_Today is my wedding day_, she realized to herself in her own little moment of true bliss. _Yes…today is my wedding day...and I'll be married to my beloved Ben, and…_

Yes, _her_ Ben. Benjamin Davidson, her handsome lover in his early twenties, specifically at ye age (y'age) of twenty-four. In her day, age difference made little difference, but sometimes there were natural biological bounds.

And then her mind reeled over the distinction between reality and fantasy.

_But is it a dream?_ she desperately questioned herself further. The entire moment was just too good for her to be true; it must almost be a fantasy world for her. _I have been dreaming about this moment for so long...thinking about this moment every day..._

This moment was her hope and dream during her childhood when Ben was away, performing his call of duty in one of Col. Henry Lee's Dragoon divisions in the Southern Department: The Fifth Regiment. Felicity had worried herself sick over Ben's safety, and had often struggled to overcome that for the sake of herself and for the sake of her family and friends, for it would do no good for her to mope about Ben every day of America's war for her independence. But that war was past two years ago.

At least that seemed to be the case as with all the commotional excitement taking place in the household.

Yawning, Felicity dragged herself out of bed. She hung her head drowsily. Yesterday night after trying her first fit into an elaborate satin white wedding gown that her mother used during her wedding, she went up to the stable loft where Ben usually slept to not only discuss daily affairs, but also play at being in love. Their flirtatious behaviors caused Mr. Merriman to remark in a bit of a joking manner that the family would have to get their Lissie married to Ben soon before they both start getting carried away with adulterous sessions of making love with each other.

The door of her bedchamber burst open in a startling manner and inside rushed Felicity's youngest nine-year-old sister Polly.

"Lissie! Lissie! Wake up! Wake up!" Polly piped up excitedly. "'Tis your wedding day!"

Felicity was too sleepy to even take heed of her sister's role of town crier in the family. "Huh?" she uttered sleepily.

"Don't you remember, Lissie?" asked Polly, still undeterred by her eldest sister's drowsy attitude.

A rather unenthusiastic grown was all that Felicity uttered in reply. "Oh...heavens..." she muttered sleepily to herself. Pushing herself up a little in her bed, Felicity looked down. She noticed that her top of her left breast was slightly exposed, so she lifted the shoulder part of her shift to cover it up.

Drowsily she threw off her bed covers. Her encounter with little Polly was able to make her remember clearly what day it really was. It was the middle of May in the year 1783; two blissfully uneventful years after the war, which culminated officially for most Virginians with the Siege of Yorktown, the hometown where Ben grew up most of his childhood. It seemed like forever for Felicity waiting two years for this day; the waiting was for the reason that things back in Williamsburg had to be put back together again, like Humpty-Dumpty. Now at eighteen years of age, Felicity could have some reasonable measure of confidence that she would be ready to give her all to Ben in holy matrimony.

_Eighteen years old...so hard to believe..._ Felicity thought to herself. Her heart was lively but at the same time was tense. Even during this day Felicity would often question herself whether she was ready to take on the bliss and the challenges of a married life. _Was_ she ready? _Would_ she be ready?

Felicity got pretty carried away in her daydreams. In a flash of focus she forced herself to slide off the bed. Her eyes felt sleepy, and she felt as though all her energy had surged out of her in this time of tension. But at the same time, her heart was pounding in anticipation of the wedding event. The event that would change her life so much that she had difficulty restraining herself from being skittish just thinking about it. And the joyous celebration after the wedding ceremony would take place outdoors, and everyone in her family and her circle of friends knew that she loved the outdoors very much.

She didn't bother putting anything on her feet, as she would do that later after getting herself dressed.

She plunged her hands into the cold water of her face-washing basin and slapped it roughly over her face. Because of the May weather, the water was a welcoming wake-up instrument to get her awake. Fairly. After drying her face with a clean white towel, she took to staring at her reflection in her little vanity mirror that was given to her two Christmases ago by Mrs. Fitchett. _Hmm...so untidy of me_, she analyzed herself.

Felicity tousled her titian ginger red hair with both her hands and brushed it back with her little wooden comb. Then in a playful fit of vanity she batted her eyelashes and scrutinized the reflection of her snappy green eyes.

_If looks could kill_, Felicity mused to herself as she stared at her reflection. Around the past years of the war she had a handful of suitors making all sorts of engagement proposals to her, having been totally bewitched by her faerie charms.

Then she sighed. Despite combing her hair in a fairly thorough manner, Felicity still looked pretty unkempt, like a witch-child. _Well, maybe 'twill get better_, she assured herself presumptuously.

As usual, her meditative mood was interrupted by her mother calling her name. Loudly.

"Lissssseeeee!" her mother called.

Downstairs, Mrs. Merriman was getting pretty exasperated. "Lissie, for heaven's sake, I am _not_ going to call you again! Do you want me to cancel the whole wedding altogether?"

This dire warning was enough to bolt Felicity upright. _Oh, no..._ she thought to herself in frustration. "Coming, Mother," she called back loudly as she jumped off her bed.

Felicity got dressed right away in her ordinary flowery gown, straightened her mobcap, and headed downstairs in a rushed manner.

"Gracious, Lissie!" her mother exclaimed. "You _really_ must learn to be on time when I call you."

"But Mother, I was having the most wonderful dream of my entire life," Felicity protested.

Mrs. Merriman simply snorted. "You _dream_ too much, Lissie," she said. "From now on during the wedding, less _dreaming_, more _attentiveness_ to your surroundings. Understand?"

Felicity ceded to her mother's desperate requests with a nod of her head and a sigh at the same time.

"The entire wedding would turn into a complete _disaster_ if you were to get too caught up in your daydreaming," Mrs. Merriman continued out of admonition to her daughter.

Polly was making a rather exaggerated imitation of Felicity putting her head in the clouds. "Ooh…can you imagine that…" she said, trying to mimic Felicity's voice. "Lissie daydreaming during her wedding day…"

"Oh _hush_, Polly," Felicity snapped crossly to her youngest sister after turning her head to face her.

"Now, Lissie…" Mrs. Merriman said softly but with a tone of disapproval.

Polly turned to her second eldest sister. "Nan, do you dream a lot?" she asked her.

Nan decided to give this matter a bit of thought before giving her brisk reply. "Sometimes," she answered.

"I'll bet Lissie was dreaming a lot about Ben," Polly admitted. "Weren't you, Lissie?"

Felicity looked back at her youngest sister with soulful eyes. "Aye," she replied. "Of course I was."

"So much, in fact, that she keeps forgetting her chores," Polly added further with an impish grin. "Not to mention her lessons at Miss Manderly's."

All of a sudden, Felicity became miffed over her youngest sister's remark. If there was something that could miff her to the point of provoking her to indignation, it was being teased about her daydreaming regarding Ben during his absence in the war.

"That's not nice, Polly," Felicity said crossly at her with a disapproving frown.

"Not nice of what?" Polly asked rhetorically in impish innocence.

"You're making fun of me!" Felicity complained crossly. "Again!"

"'Tis indeed true, Lissie," Nan said disapprovingly to her eldest sister, but with a light smile.

Felicity stated becoming pretty resentful over her youngest sister's siding with Polly over the way her romantic affair with Ben was conveyed. "Little Miss Priss always has to side with my youngest sister," she muttered rather resentfully.

"Not always," Nan informed gently. Sometimes, I chide Polly. This is one of the few times that I get to side with her on certain matters." She looked at Polly. "But Polly," she reminded the youngest, "This does not give you the right to be excessively mean to your eldest sister."

Polly simply rolled her eyes. While Nan was lecturing her, William was stepping into the house toting a fully-grown live rabbit. As usual, Polly could not help petting the rabbit's fuzzy bunny head.

Mrs. Merriman, as usual over William's antics, was pretty dismayed. It seemed that William's creativity with mischief-making was getting out of hand for Mrs. Merriman the more his childlike intelligence grew. "William, what on earth is with _you_ and that rabbit?" she queried her son.

William decided to answer his mother's exasperated query by asking a simple but pretty ridiculous question; ridiculous, at the very least, in the eyes of Mrs. Merriman and the girls. "Mother, can I bring the rabbit to church?" he asked. "He'll feel really lonely if I don't bring him."

"Gracious!" exclaimed Mrs. Merriman. "No, William," she told him absolutely. "Absolutely not. You take that rabbit back to his hutch this instant and hurry back inside." But even though taking up a hobby with live rabbit collection was less of a problem, Mrs. Merriman had to set the bounds with what William could and could not do with them.

To Polly, Mrs. Merriman told her, "Polly, do run to the parlor and tell me what time it is."

"Yes, Mother," Polly answered with a sigh. Without anything further to say she strode off to the parlor. It was not long before she returned with the chronological info based on what she gathered from the family cuckoo clock.

"Half past eight," Polly informed in precocious loudness, as if she was telling the world that it was 8:30 in the morning.

"Goodness!" exclaimed Mrs. Merriman in dismay. "Already?"

"We haven't had our breakfast yet," Nan murmured right away.

Mrs. Merriman sighed. "All right," she said finally. "You girls come with me to the kitchen and we'll help Rose cook something for all of us to eat before the wedding starts. Hurry!"

All, which included Ben and Mr. Merriman, who were at the General Store right now.

* * *

It was a typical May Day, sunny and mild. The whole town of Williamsburg was pretty much in an uproar over the upcoming wedding, as Ben and Felicity's wedding was juicy news for the close-knit townsfolk.

Ben was already on his way to the General Store to help out Mr. Merriman with various last-minute shop tasks before the start of the wedding. Because Ben was going to make a vow of total devotion to the woman he loved, inside his very self he was feeling pretty exhilarated, but tense, too. For the decision he would make would change his life forever. Apart from that he could also consciously remember that this was his last year of apprenticeship with Mr. Merriman before being left to make a decision as to whether he wanted to be journeyman or a partner to Mr. Merriman himself. Because Ben was a pretty generous individual, he decided for himself, as well as for the sake of his Lissie, that the partnership option would be best, since this would mean that both he and Felicity would be living in Williamsburg close to where the Merrimans resided, since partnership with Mr. Merriman would bind him to reside closer with the Merrimans. He knew Felicity would love very much to be close to her family and friends; that's why he made unto himself a resolution to do it; assuming of course, if the circumstances allowed for it. But if they did, he would really do it.

Ben made his heading into the General Store, only to see his master busied at a typical ledger task. "Good morning, Mr. Merriman," he greeted his master in a manner both jovial and enthusiastic."

"Ah. Good morning to you to, Mr. Davidson," Mr. Merriman greeted his apprentice rather cordially, as was usually typical of him when things went well. "I trust you have already prepared yourself for the most radical event that is guaranteed to change your life and the life of my eldest daughter in the most radical manner?"

Ben made a hearty chuckle over this seemingly witty metaphor in reference to him and Felicity being wed. "I have, sir," he answered enthusiastically and confidently. He could commit to memory the many discussions over his future prospects with Mr. Merriman that took place at the General Store. Right now he was taking notice of several flour sacks, and other crates ranging from gin to china, and of course, tea, which, thanks to the end of the war, was now being sold back in the store after fair negotiations with England.

"A 'few' loose ends to tie up in the store, I gather?" he asked Mr. Merriman rather rhetorically.

"Aye," Mr. Merriman answered his apprentice rather briskly. "Apart from being blessed with the most glorious May Day for you and Lissie, I've also been blessed with..." He pointed to the sacks and crates. "...Several deliveries of the various merchandise I've placed hefty orders for."

"That figures," Ben quipped shortly. Mr. Merriman didn't have to give Ben specific instructions as to what to do with the merchandise regarding sorting. Ben did that every day sometimes.

"And after you're through sorting, do make sure that the registry is secured and locked up. I'll be sifting through my ledger in the counting room."

After a confident nod of acknowledgment, Ben set off to work on getting the bags and crates stacked and arranged in their appropriate places near the shelves. Mr. Merriman, promptly keeping to his word, headed off to the counting room, toting his leather brown-backed ledger.

But shortly, Ben's work was interrupted when Mr. Merriman peeked out the door to share with him one last reminder to his valued apprentice.

"And if you hurry up, you can get yourself dressed in your army uniform on time," he added. "Lissie won't be too happy if you're late.

Ben grinned. "Yes, sir," he answered finally. The door of the counting room slammed shut as Ben resumed back to work.

* * *

In Mr. and Mrs. Merriman's bedchamber an elaborate wedding gown that Mrs. Merriman used during her wedding day was spread out on the bed. It was a satin white sack gown, with smooth silk drapings across the skirt area, beset with beautiful images of red roses meticulously sewn into the drapings themselves. There was also a veil, which, according to Mrs. Merriman, would be used to cover Felicity's pretty red head.

Mrs. Cole, the mother of Felicity's best friend Elizabeth Cole, now known as Elizabeth Michaels after her marriage to Phillip Michaels, once suggested privately to Mrs. Merriman that she utilize the wedding gown that was used by the former during her wedding. Also included on the bed near the gown itself was an elegant pair of elaborately handcrafted dancing slippers, surely to be a perfect fit for Felicity's fully grown feet. Mrs. Merriman politely declined that offer, stating that the gown she used was "sufficiently elaborate", and that they decided to minimize the risk of upsetting her if their Lissie ended up ruining it due to some crazy romance moment with her Ben. But supposing if they decided that their wedding gown wasn't too suitable, then yes, they would consent to borrowing it.

"Oh, Mother, 'tis most gorgeous!" Felicity exclaimed in great awe.

"Really?" asked Mrs. Merriman, blushing. "I know 'tis a mite old-fashioned, but…"

"Mother, 'tis going to matter little about fashion," Felicity burst out. "The gown is most beautiful; I can't _wait_ to try it on!"

"Which is what you're about to right now, Lissie," Nan put in right away.

Taking the gown from the bed, Felicity, Felicity, under the supervision of her mother and her two younger sisters carefully slipped into the gown. Most likely it took at the very least two to three minutes for Felicity to slip in without rendering damage to the gown itself. After sliding the gown on Felicity, Mrs. Merriman and the younger girls proceeded with combing and arranging Felicity's stubborn and wavy titian ginger hair while Felicity slid on the dancing shoes.

"Lissie, stop squirming," Mrs. Merriman told Felicity. "You're worse than Polly."

"At least you don't have to wear a wig," Nan told Felicity.

"Thank God," assented Felicity. "They are uncomfortable."

"Could _you_ try wearing a red wig?" asked Polly. "Like what the Virgin Queen wore?"

Felicity just looked at her youngest sister, mouth agape. Mrs. Merriman couldn't help laughing over Polly's precocious wig humor. In most of the painted portraits of England's (beloved) Virgin Queen Elizabeth, the red wig was a substitute for Queen Elizabeth's head since she lost most of her red hair. But Felicity thought that red wigs were equally repulsive, and it was bad enough that some people around Williamsburg would tease her and her family about her hair.

"Could you try wearing a red wig if you lose all your red hair?" asked Polly.

Felicity just sighed crossly, having the impulse to say "No way" about that. But she said simply, "No, I'll just simply cover my head with a simple mobcap."

"You won't lose your hair, Lissie," Mrs. Merriman told her gently. "Now calm down."

Polly was busy making a wreath of pink roses and Sweet William for Felicity to wear. She thought it would radiate a very dazzling effect on the congregation.

"I wonder what it would be like for Lissie to have a child," Polly wondered.

"Mrs. Merriman just simply chuckled while shaking her head. "Polly…just like her eldest sister…" she mused. This was due to the fact tat Felicity often asked a lot of rather impatient questions during her childhood.

"Don't you think you're going just a little too far with that idea, Polly?" asked Nan.

"I don't know," Polly quipped simply. "Maybe."

A break was in session in Polly's speech[ification].

"But if she does, will it look like her?" Polly queried further.

"Maybe," Mrs. Merriman answered humorously with a light laugh. "That's a possibility."

"How about like Ben?" Nan asked, on the verge of laughing.

Polly could not help laughing over that one.

"All right," said Mrs. Merriman finally. "Girls, girls, I'll take over here. Both of you…" She stopped suddenly remembering something that she should inform Nan about.

"Oh, my goodness; I've just remembered," Mrs. Merriman started suddenly.

"What is it?" asked Felicity a mite anxiously out of sheer curiosity.

Mrs. Merriman suddenly remembered now. "Nan, do you remember that the Duffmans are coming today?"

Nan let out a gasp of shock in reaction over such seemingly surprising news. How could she forget? Of course, Mrs. Merriman meant both: coming over to the wedding, and then coming over to the house.

A year ago, Mr. Merriman gave Nathaniel permission to court Nan if she reached the appropriate age of fifteen. Ever since he bought a horse, Nathaniel had been making occasional visits to the Merriman residence to call on her.

"Nan's crush is coming, Nan's crush is coming…" Polly said in a playful sing-song tone of voice.

Nan was blushing. "Oh, yes, Mother," she answered.

"You shall want to look in your best," said Mrs. Merriman.

Polly turned to Nan as she headed near of the bedchamber door. "Is he going to play with you?"

Thinking that Polly's question had some sort of sexual overtone due to the fact that her question involved close intimacy between man and woman, Nan flew into scolding in reaction. "Polly, really!" Nan exclaimed.

Polly scampered out of the door, and Nan followed, mainly to get dressed, but also because she wanted to put some sort of end to Polly's pranks. Both Mrs. Merriman and Felicity could hear the seemingly noisy commotion of both sisters.

"Has Nathaniel proposed to you yet?" asked Polly, calling after Nan.

"Polly, you're always going too far!" Nan shouted back. "He hasn't! Not yet, at the very least!"

"Make sure he does, or you shall lose him forever!" Polly declared impishly, just like her eldest sister.

Mrs. Merriman decided to put a stop to that commotional chatter, so she hustled out of the bedchamber and called out after Polly. "Polly, that's quite enough of your childish antics! Get dressed now, and ask Nan to supervise you! And mind that William gets dressed, too!"

"Yes, Mother!" Polly called after her. After heading back to the bedchamber, Mrs. Merriman continued helping Felicity with the wedding stuff, as well as to give her a few reminders about protocol.

"Not too tight, I hope, Lissie?" Mrs. Merriman asked Felicity.

"'Tis never better," Felicity replied. "I can breathe properly, too."

Mrs. Merriman nodded. "Now, Lissie, there are a few reminders I need to convey to you," she said.

Felicity sighted. She could almost remember her mother doing something like this during dressing up on her first day of school with Miss Manderly. But this time, it was a wedding, so more formal forms of protocol had to be conveyed to her.

"The first is…" began Mrs. Merriman, when loud giggling could be heard from Nan and Polly downstairs. She assumed the probability of William's usual mischief-making with mud again, so she thought she should go through the reminders as quickly as she could before investigating the Nan-Polly scene.

Mrs. Merriman breathed a sigh of exasperation before she continued. "The first thing that I need to remind you about…" she resumed, "Is conducting yourself with grace. I'm sure Miss Manderly tells you that during every one of your dance lessons, but I'm going to remind you again because sometimes you have the tendency of forgetting your composure whenever you start getting into rapturous love moments with your Ben."

Felicity made a face, but half-heartedly had her ears perked up.

"The second reminder…" Mrs. Merriman continued. "When the reverend prompts you to make a vow of affirmation to your beloved, don't start jumping up like a wild horse shouting, 'Yes, yes, yes, I shall.' Of course, the answer is usually a 'yes' as with most wedding vows, but just answer with a soft, simple "Yes, I shall". And actually be serious about taking that vow. " She faced her eldest daughter with serious countenance; a countenance so serious that Felicity was inclined to take her mother seriously about taking wedding vows. "Wedding vows are not to be taken lightly, Lissie," Mrs. Merriman cautioned her eldest daughter. "You make a solemn, eternal oath to God that you keep to your beloved always, in good times and in bad times."

Felicity could tell that her mother was pretty serious about that wedding stuff. Not just about protocol, but also about the religious nature of marriage as well.

"Will Ben be given that same reminder, too?" asked Felicity out of concern. She knew Ben to be an honorable man, true to his word, but she fraught herself with worry over the possibility would be drawn into the temptation of seeking mistresses if his she herself never sufficed for him.

In her head Mrs. Merriman probably assumed that her husband would remind Ben of that matter, since she pretty much had loads of things to concern herself with. But she listed that request at the back of her mind, for her daughter's sake.

"I have confidence that Ben is an honorable lad, but yes, I shall endeavor to give him that same reminder," Mrs. Merriman told Felicity. And she was not just saying it just to make her daughter feel a mite better, because that matter also concerned the reputation of other family members.

"So that he does not forget," added Felicity. Mrs. Merriman acknowledged that additional statement with a serious nod of her head.

* * *

In the stable, Ben donned his Fifth Regiment uniform. He was alone in his meditations. The uniform was starched and spiffed. Both Mrs. Merriman and Rose made sure of that, for Ben's sake as well as for Felicity's sake.

* * *

A/N: A note about Queen Elizabeth I: Research suggests pretty strongly that Queen Elizabeth had undergone some sort of weird experiment with lye on her beautiful ginger red hair. As a result, it fell off, so she had to wear some sort of red wig, thus setting some sort of trend for red wig fashions. Note 2: A connection with the Colony of Virginia and the Virgin Queen (Elizabeth I) was established in the sense that Virginia was named as such by Sir Walter Raleigh in honor of "Good Queen Bess". I had some sense of fun in making allusions to Queen Elizabeth in the commentaries about Felicity's ginger red hair. L.O.L.


	3. CHAPTER 2 Wedding Vows

_**The Wedding Of Felicity And Ben**_

**Written By:**_** Commander Cody CC-2224**_

CHAPTER 2

Wedding Vows

The whole town was in an uproar. Large crowds of people flocked to the Bruton Parish Church, the parish church building where Ben and Felicity's wedding was scheduled to take place right around the mid-morning.

At the front of the chapel the Duffman family was stepping out of a grand black horse carriage. Their fifth child and youngest son, Nathaniel Duffman, the lad with light brown hair and hazel brown eyes, took to gazing at the sunny sky, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Duffman.

Inside the church building, people flocked to their pews. Ben and Felicity were both seated at the first front pew on the left side aisle. As he promised to both Mr. Merriman and to his Lissie, Ben wore his Continental Fifth Regiment uniform.

The Merriman family and the Cole family were seated at the front pew of the left aisle. Felicity's best friend, Elizabeth, was seated beside her parents, along with her young husband, Phillip Michaels, whom she wedded nearly a month prior to Felicity's wedding day. The Michaels family was seated in a pew behind but nearest tow here the Merrimans, the Coles, and the young couples were seated right now. Elizabeth's older sister, Annabelle, was in England overseas, already married to a handsome British officer by the name of Lord Harry Andrews.

Ben's Fifth Regiment comrade and best friend, Walter Wheaton, who was married to Nan's friend Sarah Bennett, nearly a month ago, where seated right behind him and Felicity. Prior to the wedding Walter had informed his young wife that he would have to leave the pew to play the role of Ben's best man. This was done so that Sarah would not get too surprised in dismay over Walter leaving the pew too soon. The family of the wife of Ben's long-deceased comrade in the Fifth Regiment, Matthew Brady, along with Fanny Wythe Brady and her son Joseph, were beside the Wheatons.

Nan took keen notice of a familiar face with a familiar teenage face that she met a year ago. It was the Duffman family, come to participate along with the mass congregation in bearing witness to the marriage ceremony, right at the back pew on the balcony. Nan waved back at Nathaniel, and Nathaniel waved back with an enthusiastic grin in his handsome teenage face.

It was not long before the glorious organ music was struck aloud, thus beginning the remarkable church service.

* * *

After several minutes of seemingly boring liturgical preparation of New Testament gospel reading, a homily was in place. It was delivered from the Reverend Ullfers, one of the devoted pastors of the Bruton Parish church. The homily also included a little but of anecdotal information about the time when Felicity and Elizabeth came up to him to talk about ghosts. 1

Apart from that, the reverend mentioned the times when Felicity often approached him for counsel during the times when she was troubled over Ben's safety during the war. He also took into account the times when Felicity stood steadfast in her duties during the British takeover in Williamsburg back in 1780, which took place at the closing years of America's war for independence from the mother country. And he also never forgot to take into additional account the moment when Felicity hugged the reverend out of grateful appreciation for his advice on how to cope with Ben's absence during the war.

Reverend Ullfers also remarked of the wonder that he had experienced as one of Williamsburg's curates to see Felicity progressively growing from a playful little girl to a fairly graceful young lady making her journey of transition to womanhood. His remark was based on seeing Felicity at Church every Sunday. For that he thanked the God on high.

* * *

It was time for the ceremony to begin. The minister called both Felicity and Ben to the foot of the altar. Mr. Merriman followed, as his role here was to act as primary witness to the marriage, as he was the father of the bride. He stationed himself beside Felicity's left side. And Walter followed next, stationing himself at Ben's right side.

The banns of marriage had to be announced first by Reverend Ullfers before the official marriage ceremony could proceed.

"I publish the banns of marriage between Benjamin Matthew Davidson of Yorktown…and Felicity Naomi Merriman of Williamsburg," the reverend announced in a rather officious manner. Of course the words were there in the worn-out copy of the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer, so he had no difficulty reciting it out loud, straight from the textbook. "If any of you know cause…or just impediment…as to _why_ these two persons should _not_ be joined together in holy Matrimony, _ye are todeclare it_. This…is the _third_ time of asking."

No objection seemed to be made among the congregation. The banns had been published for three consecutive Sundays for the past three weeks, and no objections had been made for the past two Sundays. This was fortunate for both Felicity and Ben.

As no objection could be found, the Reverend Ullfers decided to proceed with the initials. "Dearly beloved…" he began slightly pompously in the manner of a cleric of supreme importance, "We are gathered together here in the sight of God…and in the face of this congregation…to join together _this_ Man and _this_ Woman in holy Matrimony…which is an honorable estate…_in_stituted of God in the time of man's innocency…_sig_nifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church…which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence…and first miracle that he wrought…in Cana of Galilee…and is commended of Saint Paul to be honorable among all men:…and therefore is not by any to be enterprised…nor taken in hand _un_advisedly…_light_ly…or _wan_tonly…to satisfy men's carnal lusts and appetites, like brute beasts that have _no_ understanding…but _rev_erently, _dis_creetly, ad_vis_edly, _sob_erly, and in the _fear_ of God…duly considering the causes for which Matrimony…was ordained."

Reverend Ullfers made a pause as he bowed his head prayerfully. Raising his head, he continued the prayerful recitation in the manner of a serious Congressman._ "First_…it was ordained for the _pro_creation of children…to be brought up in the _fear_ and _nur_ture of the Lord…and to the _praise_ of his holy Name."

The reverend made another solemn pause.

"_Sec_ondly, it was ordained as a _rem_edy against sin, and to avoid _fornication_; that such persons as have not the gift of continency might marry, and keep themselves undefiled members…of Christ's body."

Another pause was made by the reverend.

"_Third_ly…it was ordained for the _mutual_ society, _help_, and _com_fort…that the one ought to have of the other…both in prosperity and adversity. Into which holy estate these two persons present…come now…to be joined."

The reverend now turned his solemn gaze at the congregation, and the congregation awaited his final word on the solemn ultimatum.

"Therefore,…if any man can shew any just cause, why they may _not_ lawfully be joined together, let him now _speak_,…or else hereafter forever hold his _peace_."

Silence hovered over the congregation. No objections were made. The reverend continued the recitation after making a serious nod with his head. He then turns to the young couple.

"I require and charge ye both," the reverend continued, "As ye shalt answer at the _dreadful_ day of judgment…when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed,…that if either of you know any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together in holy Matrimony, _ye do now confess it_. For be ye well assured,…that so many as are coupled together otherwise than God's Word doth allow are not joined together by God; neither is their matrimony lawful."

No word from the congregation. That being the case, the formal nuptial procedures could begin. Both Felicity and Ben took off their gloves for formal wear, much to the dismay and amusement of the congregation. Mrs. Merriman could not help making a muffled laughter to herself. From the Reverend Ullfers' frame of reference, Ben was on the left side and Felicity was on the right side.

"Benjamin Matthew Davidson," the reverend began, "Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?

Ben took a deep breath and cleared his throat. The words of affirmation would make him eternally bound to keep his Lissie always, and he knew that such vows were not to be taken lightly.

"I will," Ben responded calmly and confidently with a smile. Even at twenty-four years of age, Ben could still experience the same type of tensions that most people younger than he was would experience.

Felicity was the next spouse-to-be to affirm her solemn nuptial vow.

"Felicity Naomi Merriman, wilt thou have this Man to thy wedded Husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?"

Remembering what her mother told her about the sacredness of the marriage vow, Felicity realized that the words of affirmation on her part will keep her eternally bound to the man she loved. Her eyes were filled with love as she recited the wedding vow. "Aye, I do," she said calmly and confidently in nearly the same manner as Ben, smiling radiantly in the manner of a young lady blossoming into full bloom.

And then Reverend Ullfers asked, "Who gives this lovely young woman to be married to this man?"

The official answer arrived in the form of a formal receiving of the hands from the hand of the bride's father to the hand of the bride herself. Receiving Felicity's hand at Mr. Merriman's hand, the Reverend took hold of Ben's right hand and placed them Felicity's right hand, and reinforced the confirmation by making Ben repeat the words that reverend had to say.

"I, Benjamin Davidson…" began the reverend.

"I, Benjamin Davidson…" began Ben right after the reverend.

And the whole process continued in like manner.

"…Take thee, Felicity Merriman…"

"…Take thee, Felicity Merriman…"

"…To be my wedded wife…"

"…To be my wedded wife…"

"…To have…and to hold…"

"…To have…and to hold…"

"…From this day forward…"

"…From this day forward…"

"…For better…or for worse…"

"…For better…or for worse…"

"…For richer…or for poorer…"

"…For richer…or for poorer…"

"…In sickness…and in health…"

"…In sickness…and in health…"

"…To love…and to cherish…"

"…To love…and to cherish…"

"…Till death…do us part…"

"…Till death…do us part…"

"…According to God's holy ordinance…"

"…According to God's holy ordinance…"

"…And thereto I plight thee my troth."

"…And thereto I plight thee my troth."

Upon loosing each other's hands, the reverend took Felicity's right hand and placed them on Ben's right hand, much in the very same manner as he did with Ben to Felicity.

"I, Felicity Merriman..." started the Reverend.

"I, Felicity Merriman..." started Felicity after taking a deep breath before the verbatim recitation.

"I, Felicity Merriman…"

"I, Felicity Merriman…"

"…Take thee, Benjamin Davidson…"

"…Take thee, Benjamin Davidson…"

"…To be my wedded husband…"

"…To be my wedded husband…"

"…To have…and to hold…"

"…To have…and to hold…"

"…From this day forward…"

"…From this day forward…"

"…For better…or for worse…"

"…For better…or for worse…"

"…For richer…or for poorer…"

"…For richer…or for poorer…"

"…In sickness…and in health…"

"…In sickness…and in health…"

"…To love, cherish, and to obey…"

"…To love, cherish, and to _obey_…"

The last word, "obey", miffed Felicity a bit, since she, being influenced on the notions of independence, didn't particularly like the idea of having to "obey" the husband, but for the most part she could put up with it because she was being wed to the man she loved truly.

"...Till death...do us part," the reverend goaded her to continue.

Felicity decided to put off that thought for the time being, until at least the wedding ceremony was over. "...Till death...do us part..." she continued with a sigh.

…According to God's holy ordinance…

…According to God's holy ordinance…

And thereto…I give thee my troth.

And thereto…I give thee my troth.

After the voluntary loosing of their hands, Ben gave some sort of ring to Felicity, and Felicity placed it on the book. The reverend gave Ben the ring, and Ben slid it on Felicity's fourth finger.

The recitations, as usual, resumed, on the part of Ben.

"With this ring…I thee wed…" the reverend continued.

"With this ring…I thee wed…" Ben followed after the reverend.

"…With my body…I thee worship…"

"…With my body…I thee worship…"

"…And with all…of my worldly goods…I thee endow…"

"…And with all…of my worldly goods…I thee endow…"

"…In the name of the Father…"

"…In the name of the Father…"

"…And of the Son…"

"…And of the Son…"

"…And of the Holy Ghost."

"…And of the Holy Ghost."

"Amen."

Ben took a deep breath, in anticipation that that word would seal him to everything that he promised solemnly to God and to his beloved.

"Amen," Ben finished with a breath.

Both he and Felicity knelt at the steps of the altar as the reverend began the next set of nuptial liturgy prayers.

"Let us pray," announced the reverend. The members of the congregation bowed their heads in prayer.

"O eternal God," the reverend began, "Creator and preserver of all mankind, giver of all spiritual grace, the Author of everlasting life; Send thy blessing upon these thy servants, this Man and this Woman, whom we bless in thy Name; that, as Isaac and Rebecca lived faithfully together, so these persons may surely perform and keep the vow and covenant betwixt them made, and may ever remain in perfect love and peace together, and live according to thy laws; through Jesus Christ our Lord. _Amen._"

And thus the reverend joined the young couple's right hands, and after doing so made the ultimate marriage declaration with a ringing tone of voice; the one that always made man and woman keep to each other. As he spoke, his words could reverberate across the entire building.

"Those whom God hath joined _together_…let no man put…_asunder_," the Reverend Ullfers finished with great finality.

Felicity jumped up at Ben and rested her lips on his. Embracing each other in tight-wrapped arms, hey kissed each other passionately. For the both of them, this was their happy moment; but none was happier than Felicity. Their actions caused a stir among the congregation. Felicity started glancing at the crowd, and burst into a fit of muffled giggles. After shaking her head disapprovingly, Mrs. Merriman just had to laugh. Reverend Ullfers had to personally beckon the lively young couple with his hands to face the altar, because he had yet another set of liturgical prayers from the book to conclude the entire solemn wedding ceremony.

Holding the book up with both hands, the reverend recited the following declaration:

"Forasmuch as Benjamin Davidson and Felicity Merriman have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto have given and pledged their troth either to other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving of a ring, and by joining of hands; I pronounce that they be man and wife together, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The reverend bowed his head. "Amen."

And then he added the following blessing upon the newlyweds:

"God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve, and keep you; the Lord mercifully with his favor look upon you; and so fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace, that ye may so live together in this life, that in the world to come ye may have life everlasting. Amen."

Upon the concluding blessing, the couple slowly stood up on their own two feet. And Reverend Ullfers sang the "Beati Omnes" in a most fluent manner as Felicity, Ben, and Mr. Merriman headed back to the pew.

_Beati omnes qui timent Dominum, qui ambulant in viis ejus._

_Labores manuum tuarum quia manducabis; beatus es, et bene tibi erit. _

_Uxor tua sicut vitis abundans in lateribus domus tuæ; filii tui sicut novellæ olivarum in circuitu mensæ tuæ. _

_Ecce sic benedicetur homo qui timet Dominum. _

_Benedicat tibi Dominus ex Sion, et videas bona Jerusalem omnibus diebus vitae tuæ. _

_Et videas filios filiorum tuorum; pacem super Israel. _

* * *

As Reverend Ullfers recited the appropriate readings of the wedding service, both Felicity and Ben seemed to passively absorb some of the words and get the message; the message basically having something to do with staying faithful to each other. But there were many questions that arose: Would they really remain faithful to each other, no matter what? Would temptations sway them to sin? Would they go through in life together, even if one or the other became imperfect in their eyes? What if the children they would have went that same way, too?

Felicity and Ben would have those questions answered as they made their maiden journey of their now married life, but for now, being young both in body and at heart, they decided to focus on the bliss of married life.

* * *

Author's Note:

For those who are not familiar with the Latin translation of the recited prayer, here is a translation from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

_Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: and walk in his ways._

_For thou shalt eat the labours of thine hands: O well is thee, and happy shalt thou be._

_Thy wife shall be as the fruitful vine: upon the walls of thine house._

_Thy children like the olive-branches: round about thy table._

_Lo, thus shall the man be blessed: that feareth the Lord._

_The Lord from out of Sion shall so bless thee: that thou shalt see Jerusalem in prosperity all thy life long._

_Yea, that thou shalt see thy children's children: and peace upon Israel._

A/N (1): Most of the detailed rituals of Lissie and Ben's wedding were derived directly from the 1662 version of the _Book of Common Prayer_. Some words are slightly abridged to suit the story, but most of the original script is kept.

A/N (2): Bear in mind that the word "estate" is pronounced as "_es_-tit", with the last syllable having a short "I" sound.

A/N (3): I decided to give this wedding ceremony a religious characteristic. The reason for this religious characteristic is because people were pretty religious back then, and I thought that completely secularizing the wedding ceremony would be an insult to the legacy of Felicity the American Girl because religion and society were interwoven in that period. I think that was especially true among commoners, even after the American War for Independence because religion pretty much had an important place in their lives (even during the age of what is called the Enlightenment) which for the most part is a theme behind most of the Felicity fanfics that I write.

A/N (4): Felicity's middle name, Naomi, was mainly derived from pansyphoenix's Lissie/Ben romance story. Ben's middle name, Matthew, was derived from the story _Young Benjamin Davidson_.

A/N (5): The Duffman family was featured in _Duel For You, Ben Davidson_.

A/N (6): Having pretty limited knowledge of the architectural design of the Bruton Parish Church building, I was ruminating on the possibility of having the Duffman family sit on the back pew of the balcony, assuming that Bruton Parish Church had a balcony and was structured in that manner.

1 From _Lady Margaret's Ghost_, by Elizabeth McDavid Jones


	4. CHAPTER 3 Wedding Celebration

_**The Wedding Of Felicity And Ben**_

**Written By:**_** Commander Cody CC-2224**_

CHAPTER 3

Wedding Celebration

The official wedding celebration took place at the front lawn of the Bruton Parish church, right around the area near the entranceway. Damasked buffet tables of gorgeous types of ideal picnic food were laid out in neat sections on the lawn. Music from various portable instruments such as fifes, stringed instruments, and drums, some of them which saw the war, were played to heighten the spirits of the participants. All sorts of performances seemed to be taken place. The gaiety of the wedding had never been this high.

Ben was busy conversing with Mr. Merriman about all sorts of topics, ranging from current political situations to marriage prospects. William was old enough to join in the conversations as well, and he did so, mainly due to his seeming aversion to getting caught up with activities that he deemed too girlish for his tastes.

Right near where Ben, Mr. Merriman, and William were gathered, Felicity was busy embracing her mother and her sisters. Mrs. Merriman, Nan, and Polly shared among each other a joy that every family member felt over any of their kin being officially wedded. Pretty much it was usually in a woman's nature to experience a greater degree of joy over this sort of thing. Added to this joyful gathering did their overlapping conversations, which overlapped so much that it sounded like incoherent babble to the ears of an individual want understanding over what their conversations were about in the first place.

Behind the line of guests were the Fitchetts, and the Wentworths, former neighbors of Felicity's deceased Grandfather on her mother's side. Mrs. Fitchett kept prattling about all sorts of things to her husband out loud, much to the slight annoyance of Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth right behind them. The stout, gossipy woman never seemed to run out of almost anything to say!

"Well, well, well!" Mrs. Fitchett exclaimed in ecstasy over seeing Felicity. "The dear girl! Already in full bloom like a mature red rose!" To Mrs. Merriman, she said, "I can almost remember the conversation at your husband's store took place nearly ten years ago, when I asked her if she'd be ready for the lads to come a-courting…and lo and behold, she is already married!"

Even Felicity could remember that same conversation as well.

"I dare say this is going to be the happiest moment in Miss Lissie's life," continued Mrs. Fitchett, before turning to her husband standing right beside her. "Don't you think, dear?"

"Aye; I myself most totally agree that it is, and should be," assented Mr. Fitchett. "Depending, of course, if she loves the man very much."

If anything could send Mrs. Fitchett nearly into spasms, it was criticism over a viewpoint that she clung to. "But of course she does!" she exclaimed in her most opinionated manner. "She is already happy as a lark; look at her blooming face! I do so think that that Davidson lad is the most excellent romantic choice for a spunky lass like her."

"My husband thought so, too," agreed Mrs. Merriman after nodding her head in sighing relief. "When I witnessed those two grow up together, there was something betwixt them that said they were meant for each other. Edward, Providence be praised, was keen enough to take such kindly notice."

"Well, I think Mr. Merriman was most kind to even consider the match, considering that Mr. Davidson managed to come back from the war alive…and intact." She instinctively put her hand directly on her heart. "God help those unfortunate lads and lasses…" she declared. She cleared her throat, and put her hand down.

"And if I may so put…" she was about to continue, before being interrupted by Mr. Wentworth behind, who cleared his throat quite loudly, as if indicating [by sound] that he, along with his wife, was anxious to greet the newlyweds and get the whole thing over with.

"Oh…oh my gosh…I never thought," Mrs. Fitchett bespoke in a flustered manner. She then turned her face toward Mrs. Merriman and the girls. "Well, we shall see all of you pretty shortly…at the dance," she declared with great finality.

"And I shall look forward to seeing the young newlyweds dancing away!" Mr. Fitchett exclaimed rather excitedly.

The Fitchetts took their leave of the greeting scene. Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth stepped up the plate.

"Well, what can I say right now?" asked Mr. Wentworth, who at this point seemed to run out of things to say. "I think your Grandfather would be very proud, considering that Mr. Davidson is on the other side…"

"Tosh, _!" Mrs. Wentworth interrupted her husband rather huffily. "Stop insinuating such divisive thoughts into the girl's head. The war has been over for nearly three years ago, remember?"

"The war may be over, my dear, but old opposite sides may never be," Mr. Wentworth grunted. "It takes an awful long time getting off the mind."

"Now, now, Mr. Wentworth…" Mr. Merriman said to him, trying to keep his argumentative mood out of the way."

"Right, right, Mrs. Merriman," Mrs. Wentworth interrupted again in her usual huffy manner. "Anyway, 'tis been so long since we caught sight of the young lass back in '75; so fidgety and such back then, but my Lord, how she's grown!"

"For the better, if I might so add," Mr. Wentworth added further.

"Oh, most surely, I should think!" Mrs. Wentworth assented. "My, how time flies so fast; but almost forever during the war. You never can tell, Martha, how the young grow up so fast and anxious, and all of a sudden…"

Finding herself pretty averse to being paraded around like a Christmas tree, Felicity found herself urged to roll her eyes and treat herself to a subtle tap dance with her feet, which of course, she did, much to her mother's disapproval.

"Gracious, Lissie!" Mrs. Merriman exclaimed at her fidgety eldest daughter. "Even at eighteen, you still fidget!"

Felicity just simply rolled her eyes. "Um…I apologize, Mother…" she murmured.

Her mind was suddenly taken off Mrs. Wentworth's opinionations about her when she suddenly spied Walter and Sarah conversing with Ben. She desperately wanted an excuse to get away from them and join her friends. In a flash of impulse, Felicity said,

"Um…please excuse me." With that, she ran to where Ben and the young Wheatons were.

Nan had the same impulse, too, upon spying her romantic partner, Nathaniel Duffman.

"Um…I've got to go, too," she said to her mother before taking her leave in a courteous manner.

"Oh, dear…" Mrs. Merriman said to herself in exasperation.

At a distance from the grown-ups, Nan was waving excitedly to someone emerging out of the thickness of the guest crowd. Her green-gray eyes were not playing at her; it was definitely Nathaniel Duffman.

"Nathaniel!" Nan exclaimed excitedly.

Nathaniel just looked at Nan in curiosity in a mite awkward fashion. "Nan?" he asked.

They both approached each other.

"Nathaniel, you've just arrived," Nan greeted him before embracing her love while Nathaniel hugged her close like a stuffed animal. Nan unwrapped herself from embracing Nathaniel before holding onto his hands. "In time for my older sister's wedding," she added further.

Both teenagers locked their gazes at each other and shared a radiant smile.

"So I've just heard," Nathaniel assented quite eagerly. "Miss Merriman and Mr. Davidson have just been wed." He looked at Nan. "However, 'tis always good to see you, Miss Nan."

"'Tis always the same with you, too," Nan agreed. She grabbed Nathaniel's hand. "Come on. Let's join the others."

"How about we find some food?" asked Nathaniel. "I'm starving."

Nan grew pretty exasperated, just like her mother. "At this time?" she asked in mock amazement. She just heaved a sigh. "All right."

The two lovebirds scampered off into the middle of the crowd, their destination being the buffet table.

Meanwhile, Ben and Felicity conversed with Walter and Sarah Wheaton.

"Walter and I were just talking about what you and Ben will be doing on your wedding night," Sarah broke in rather impulsively. Much to Sarah's amazement, Felicity instinctively puts her hand upon her [very] chest, as if anticipating something equally embarrassing for her in store. But Sarah recovered herself. "Well, tell her, Walter," she goaded her young husband.

"Ahem," Walter cleared his throat. "Well, first, both the man and wife shall enter their beloved bedroom," he informed initially. "Then the man shall slowly caress his wife at the back of her pretty neck whilst slowly undressing her, garment by garment. Finally, the wife shall bed beside her man, wherein both shall…

Felicity proceeded to shut Walter's blabbing mouth by holding her right hand over his mouth.

"Oh no, you don't, Walter Wheaton," said Felicity. "I intend _not_ to be made an embarrassment in front of everyone." She faced Ben with a look of disapproval reflected in her pretty face. "Ben, you know better than to let your friend talk about such things," she said to him before heaving an exasperated sigh. "I don't…I just don't feel comfortable talking about these things with anyone except Ben. I'd be embarrassed."

"I thought you'd enjoy the talk, Lissie," said Ben, playing innocent on her. "'Tis what you always yearned for."

Felicity sighed again before having a suddenly unpredictable change of mood. "If that's the case, I shall enjoy every moment of you kissing me savagely on my face…and the whole of my body," she declared in a rather superior manner.

Sarah got pretty shocked over Felicity's sudden change of mood that she puts her hand on her chest. Felicity grinned an impish grin.

"Sounds like I've just shocked your best friend's wife, Ben," she said to Ben, upon wrapping her arms around him in a flirty manner.

"'Tis a girl's way," Walter quipped simply, as he wrapped his manly arms around his young wife Sarah. "'Tis so thrilling to listen to, they get the sensation of getting…shocked."

Felicity cocked her head back at Walter in a most playfully superior manner. "How's Sarah doing?" she asked him, not knowing what else to say at the moment, as long as there was at least something to keep the conversation among her friends going, even if the lines were awkward in nature.

"She's doing all right," Walter replied simply.

"But of course I am!" Sarah exclaimed indignantly.

Felicity blushed. But she could still keep to herself because Ben was with her in defense. "Did…did I ask such a stupid question?" she asked her.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel is acquiring his first bite of a hamburger patty, along with a pewter bowl of apple butter with a silver spoon stabbed on top of the (mushy) mound. Like what she promised to Polly, Nan waited for Nathanial to propose to her. That was, if he would ever do so.

"I…I suppose this time would not really be a good time to propose now, wouldn't it," said Nathaniel, while chewing eagerly on his food.

Nan thought this was the time, but did not want to get led intentionally. She wanted to see if Nathaniel was pretty serious about the proposal matters. "Well, Polly indeed has been pushing me about the matter."

Nathaniel could understand pretty much. He met the Merriman family before during a ball a year ago, and he encountered them on the same occasions that he called on Nan. His parents thought the love match was "most excellent", or so Lady Duffman put when she took notice of the both of them dancing with each other in the ballroom for the very first time.

Nan observed Mr. Merriman and William. So did Nathaniel.

"I wonder what your father is discussing with your brother right now," Nathaniel continued.

"Oh. Just…miscellanies," Nan replied with a shrug of her ladylike shoulders. "Things about the war, the current political situations…"

"Our seemingly romantic [love] affair?" Nathaniel put in almost impulsively, as if he wanted to get this rather awkward implication of a romantic proposal done with.

Nan shrugged her shoulders again, as if to gain more confidence within her ladylike self. "Maybe," she answered him simply.

"You sound pretty uncertain about your answer, Miss Nan," he said smoothly, while observing Nan very closely in her face. Nan turned her head to face Nathaniel eye to eye. "Indeed, I would not be even as half-surprised because such talk is usually reserved among women." He grinned voluntarily. "Not to mention young girls…your age."

Nathaniel could pretty much remember that his seemingly keen observations and deductions got some girls to take fancy to him out of interest or piqued curiosity, or just plain dislike him. But most likely Nan sort of knew that, as Nathaniel most likely had told her something to that effect during their blessed courtship days.

Back to Felicity, Ben, Walter, and Sarah…

"So where be Miss Nan, Miss Felicity?" Sarah asked her.

"She's…um…" Felicity began her reply rather hesitantly. Her answer came in the form of spying Nan and Nathaniel standing near a damasked buffet table. "Oh. Nan is busy talking with Nathaniel Duffman."

"You'd do well to address him as _Mr._ Nathaniel Duffman, Miss Felicity," Sarah said to Felicity in a pretty advisory manner.

Much to Felicity's surprise, Elizabeth and her handsome, dashing husband Phillip Michaels stepped into the scene. Phillip's milk-chocolate-brown hair, wrapped in a ponytail, glistened in the April sun, and his medium-gray eyes twinkled with delight. Most of the time Phillip was open-minded on most matters, especially on the political ones.

"Felicity!" Elizabeth exclaimed ecstatically.

"Elizabeth!" Felicity exclaimed, excited over seeing her longtime best friend.

Both girls hugged each other tightly. Elizabeth hugged Ben, and Phillip manfully shook Ben's hand.

"Congratulations, Mr. Davidson," Phillip said to him rather cordially.

Finding himself unable to break away from his trademark awkwardness, Ben could only answer with a simple thank you. "Gee, thanks," he said simply, but grinned like a happy man.

"What have you boys and girls been talking about?" Elizabeth asked curiously, wanting to get the latest news over with the rest of her friends.

"Oh," said Sarah. "Initially, it was what Felicity and Ben would be doing…" She made a rather impish grin, just like Felicity always did. "…On their wedding night."

Elizabeth instinctively held her hand over her heart, fearing to herself that such talk was scandalous for proper boys and girls, and she had concern for the reputation of her best friend. "Oh, Sarah," she said. "Are…are you sure that's appropriate to talk about? There are guests all around; Lissie will feel so embarrassed."

"Well, I used to be quite embarrassed, but…but little," said Felicity, trying to put Elizabeth at ease because this told her that Felicity was now not embarrassed in the least. "Because I'm just as eager to do this as Ben is."

"Well, this is getting to be quite a fun conversation," observed Phillip.

While Ben was conversing with Walter, Felicity spied someone familiar in the distance behind the crowd. That someone looked familiar to her from long ago.

The man was an invited visitor, but a visitor who seemed to be on the verge of making trouble for the newlyweds. Felicity could recall him to be the man who was Felicity's old enemy back in her childhood and behind the cruel mistreatment of her favorite horse Penny. Who else could be but…Jiggy Nye.

Felicity was very much startled over Mr. Nye's seemingly unkempt appearance, especially his face, but she maintained her composure. Back in her childhood she had encountered Jiggy Nye for the very first time when she witnessed him cruelly treating Penny, now her favorite horse, thanks to her deceased Grandfather. But before she had Penny, Felicity was appalled over Mr. Nye's treatment of Penny that she decided to end it for Penny's sake by freeing her from the tannery. But a year later, Jiggy Nye began to show some kindness by caring for Penny when she was about to give birth to her foal, Patriot. After that, little was known now about Mr. Nye.

That was, until now. Felicity's mind was reeling over what on earth Mr. Nye was doing at the party. Was his intent to stir up trouble for both her and Ben? Perhaps he changed his heart, but Felicity couldn't know for sure. Wanting to take on Mr. Nye personally to save her friends and family the trouble, she separated from Ben, Walter, and Sarah. She stationed herself at the center of the Bruton Parish lawn as the man blundered through.

"Why, good day to ye, Missesssss…" Mr. Nye greeted in an almost snakelike manner of speaking.

Felicity made a gulp of hesitancy. "And…um…good day to you to, Mr. Nye," she replied. She took a deep breath. "Might I inquire…as to what brings you here?" She felt pretty nauseous to her stomach; as though she had asked a strange and rather inconsiderate question to a wedding guest.

"Why, am I not invited and welcome in this grand and glorious mess of a wedding feast?" Mr. Nye retorted in the most unsavory manner.

Felicity felt miffed but pretty concerned over Mr. Nye's apparent cynicism.

"Well, Mr. Nye," she began a little nervously, "Usually you of all people don't normally attend parties like this, and…"

"Aye, that be true," Mr. Nye interrupted. "What brought me here was _you_… and that [loathsome] brat of a Davidson."

Felicity made a rather cross face at Mr. Nye in responsive reaction. "Mr. Nye, if what you have in mind is provoking me to the point of hell's fury, well, I think you are going to be unsuccessful at that because I'm already too grown up to make trouble for this celebration," she tried to warn him.

Mr. Nye chuckled mischievously with glee, like someone was drunk. "I like it when you're cross, girl," he stated. "It makes you so, so pretty."

Felicity could notice Mr. Nye staring at her below. Tracing his gaze, she noticed that his eyes were fixed at her bosoms.

"'Tis most unseemly to stare at a woman's bosom, Mr. Nye," she chided him in the manner of her mother.

"Really," Mr. Nye bespoke rather challengingly.

"Besides, you've helped me with Penny's foal eight years ago, when I pleaded personally for your help," Felicity informed him, in the hope of staying Mr. Nye's intentions of making trouble for her and her friends. "Don't you remember?"

"Until your newlywed husband started threatening to kill me," Mr. Nye growled cynically.

"I take it you mean long ago, back in my childhood, if I imagine correctly," said Felicity.

"Aye, li'l Missy," Mr. Nye assented.

"That is so, and I told him not to." Felicity made a nervous chuckle to herself over that particular memory of how Ben tried to protect her and Penny. She altered her demeanor to a serious one, upon resuming her own little standoff with Mr. Nye. "If you destroy your reputation by trying to hurt me and Ben…and Penny, you'll never get it back," she warned him seriously.

Mr. Nye let out a savage growl at Felicity, which made her shrink back. But Felicity would not let her be intimidated by him completely, so she stood her ground firmly. "Who the blasted hell _ever_ gives a rat's ass about my reputation?" he growled. "Look at me!" Felicity could observe the stark ruggedness of Mr. Nye, while shaking in internal terror. "What you see, young _Missy_, is _my_ reputation…straight…straight out of my own blasted body."

With that, Mr. Nye uncorked a dark-colored bottle of strong brandy and gulped it down his throat, right in plain sight of Felicity.

"There! See? _That's_…That's my reputation!" Mr. Nye spat in a most violent manner. "_Twisted! Demolished! _Completely _rotten_ to an apple's core!"

Suddenly Ben approached the scene from greeting various wedding guests to intervene on Felicity's behalf.

"Lissie?" Ben asked his newly wedded wife a mite anxiously. "What the hell's going on?" It was then that he took serious notice of Jiggy Nye before turning to Felicity. "Lissie, what's with you and Mr. Nye?" he questioned further.

Felicity had a look of concern in her face. "I don't know, Ben," she answered. "Mr. Nye…Mr. Nye is pretty cynical about everything right now."

"That much is certain," Ben stated rather wryly.

Even though Felicity's assessment of Mr. Nye was somewhat premature at this point, Ben couldn't seem to help thinking that what Felicity's been assessing about Mr. Nye is so, since he was now primarily concerned about keeping his Lissie safe from the likes of Mr. Nye, whom he now perceived would not hesitate to take unfair [sexual] advantage of her.

Ben tried not to sound too unfriendly. "Mr. Nye, if the purpose of your visit as an honored guest is to harass my newly wedded wife, I can promise you of all people that something really, really unpleasant will be in store for you if you dare lay a finger on her," he warned the rugged man." Not only that, I will really see to it that this unpleasantness is personally delivered to you…at your doorstep."

"Like what?" Mr. Nye challenged loudly.

"I can call the bride's father," said Ben coolly. "Or the authorities? Or…" He eyed Mr. Nye's belly. "…I can take the pleasure of punching the stuffing out of you."

Felicity was determined to make Mr. Nye see some sense. "He's right, Mr. Nye," she said to him pretty determinedly. "I would take him seriously upon his very word if I were you."

"Well, frankly, you ain't me!" Mr. Nye spat, glowering directly at Felicity. He then shot back a dirty look at Ben, who at this point was more staid (straight-faced) than intimidated. "Even if you went gone to the bloody war for four bloody years, you still think you have the right to throw your damn weight around?"

Ben gave out a hard laugh. "Well, frankly, Mr. Nye," he replied, "'tis really _you_ who even has the audacity to through _your_ damn weight around."

Mr. Nye, now having within himself the craving of a young woman's flesh upon leering at Felicity, decided to make his intense feelings known to both the married couple. "Mr. Davidson," he began, lowering his tone of voice. "I…am _so_ much in love with your woman right now, I have a strong inclination to bed with her and put my itching hands on those delicious…young…bosoms of hers."

"You can't do that!" Ben exclaimed rather indignantly. "She's _my_ woman! Only _I_ get to do that!"

Felicity winced over the way that statement implies that she's the property of her man. She (of all people) was rather averse to that because she wanted to be her own self, free and independent, and wanted to be treated as a human being with a mind of her own, and not just simply chattel of her man. But then of course Ben was doing this to protect her, out of love for her.

Felicity gave a sly and rather naughty smile. "You know, Mr. Nye, when I was little, I was so…intimidated by you," she said to him rather saucily. "Now that I'm all grown up…I'm not afraid of you anymore."

"More angry than afraid is what." Ben put in rather casually.

"So what have you got to say about _that_, Mr. Nye?" Felicity asked him in a rather disdainful manner.

Mr. Nye became more irate over Felicity's seemingly disdainful question that he started resorting to off-color statements. "I say…that your bravery will be in vain…and that not even your 'noble' man can stop me from laying every itching finger on your body…down to your bust."

The crowd gasped over Mr. Nye's off-color declaration. This rather provocative, off-color declaration of [sexual] threat goaded Felicity to throw a hard punch directly at Mr. Nye's face. But that didn't certainly throw Mr. Nye to the ground.

"Heh, heh, heh," Mr. Nye laughed almost evilly. "You're not that strong enough, woman. 'Twill take more than just a punch to knock a hard man like me to the floor, even if you think of me as nothing but a stone drunkard."

Unbeknownst to Mr. Nye, Ben was right behind him, holding a Brown Bess by the barrel's end. "Then I suggest you try _this_," he said. With that he whacked Mr. Nye directly in the face with the butt, knocking him completely to the grassy ground. The crowd seemed to get head over heels on that particular one.

"I wanted an excuse to whack that son of a bitch," said Ben.

"So did I," added Felicity.

Both lovers smiled at each other over their seemingly well-earned victory.

* * *

Jiggy Nye's knocked-out, brandy-soured body was laid to rest near the table where Ben and Felicity were seated together. His snoozy body was slumped on the front side of where Felicity and Ben were seated.

At Felicity's right side were the Merrimans, and at Ben's left side were Mr. and Mrs. Cole, along with Elizabeth and Phillip. The Wheatons were on Felicity's side; the Fitchetts and the Wentworths were at Ben's side. So was the Wythe family.

Walter was preparing to make a public toast on behalf of the young newlyweds. Whilst standing he tried to silence the crowd. Then a gruff old man in a regular worn-out brown coat and black breeches, who was near where Ben and Felicity were seated was able to silence them by rapping his cane loudly on the buffet table. Both Ben and Felicity gave him a look that reflected gratitude in their handsome faces.

"My fellow colonials…" Walter began to speak quite loudly.

The crowd hushed, waiting for what Walter had to say about the young newlyweds.

"My fellow colonials, it gives me great pleasure…" he lowered his voice a bit. "…To perform this solemn duty of culminating this glorious wedding day…of Mr.…and Mrs.…Davidson."

Both Felicity and Ben were exchanging glances at each other. They were indeed Mr. and Mrs. Davidson, as if they had just recently been conferred a title.

"Yes," Walter continued. "Even in my veteran days, the life of a former soldier in General Washington's army is still filled with _excessive_ duty. Every day during the war I followed Master. Davidson's lead, sometimes without question, and other times…with question, because no man wants to be led in the dark a lot, though I must admit, that can't be helped."

The guests were chuckling to themselves over this before Walter made his continuous word.

"Now that the Colonies have peace, I can tend to my new duties…for instances, as a devoted husband…to young Sarah Bennett Wheaton." He looked at Felicity and Ben as he put his manly arms around Sarah. "But even my duty days in Washington's army pales in comparison to my role to Master Davidson…as best man."

The guests started their resounding hand-clapping. Walter gave them a second before proclaiming another word.

"Now…of course…, some…well, _most_ of you mayhap are a-wondering, why on earth is Master. Davidson the recipient of this glorious toast, even though Master. Davidson has been the leader of…well, everything? Will, I'll tell you all a little story. It all began when he told me…" Then for drama purposes he lowered his voice to slightly exaggerate a voice of confiding from Ben. "'Walter, you've served me and General Washington countless times. Now I need you to serve me again once more…as my best man. Will you do this for me and Miss Lissie?'"

Silence hovered over the crowd as they awaited further words from Walter, hoping that he could say at least something witty that would trigger some laughs.

"Now, to me, that was like a lord of old rewarding me for investing his talents and in return asking me watch over some kingdom, if you get my meaning here."

Silence again. Walter stopped himself. He thought that that biblical allusion to the parable of the talents was a bit lame for him to convey.

"Well, I was glad to offer my services…maybe one last time? Well, not _the_ last time. If he and his wife should ever be in need of help I should offer my services. But…this role was special. And I was happy to offer it.

"Well, enough of further intellectual twaddle. Anyway, fellows, I…propose a glorious toast. To the bride and groom. Mr.…and Mrs.…Davidson."

Everyone raised their glasses, and others, their pewter and tin mugs. Ben and Felicity raised their wineglasses as well, as with everyone else around them. Drinking cups clinked each other, and both lovers concluded the toast with a passionate kiss amidst resounding hand-clapping from the guests.

Walter simply sat down, exhaling to himself, relieved that at least he got this awkward but otherwise cordial toast over with. Sarah bestowed a playful peck his left cheek, which really eased his nerves, since that was a sign that his wife had pretty modest regards about the toast speech. "That was not so bad," she said rather suggestively.

He turned his focus to Ben and Felicity.

"Good speech, Walter!" called Ben. "Nice and short!"

"That was nice, Walter!" called Felicity, blowing a kiss at him.

* * *

Nearly after the formal outdoor feast, lively music was struck up. Some people joined in the dance.

While standing alongside her Ben on his right side, Felicity was dancing to herself while clasping her hands in a clasped manner to the lively rhythm of the rustic Virginian music.

"Want to dance?" Felicity asked him.

"Um…Lissie," Ben tried to answer her, "You know full well that I'm not _that_ good at dancing."

Without even a second thought, Felicity impulsively dragged her Ben to the grassy dancing grounds.

"What…" Ben muttered, getting a mite flustered. "Lissie, what are you doing? What are _we_ doing?"

"Dancing, of course," answered Felicity. She pointed to the spot where Ben should be standing in front of her. "Here. You bow, I make a courtesy," she finished with a giggle.

Ben sighed. "All right," he assented simply. He made a deep bow, and Felicity made a curtsy. Then, hand in hand, they danced away to the merry music.

Mr. and Mrs. Merriman joined in the dance. The Fitchetts and the Wentworths followed next.

Next were the two teenage lovebirds Nan and Nathaniel.

"What to dance?" Nan asked him.

"All right," Nathaniel agreed confidently after acknowledging a nod from his head. Both of them stepped into the dancing lawn and danced away.

Meanwhile, Polly wanted to come join the dance. She had the audacity to ask Ben and he consented. He ended up making a good ol' laughingstock of out of himself when he awkwardly danced with Polly, who at this point was half his height. Felicity giggled to herself, whilst holding her right hand index finger up her grinning mouth. But Ben didn't really care too much right now. He was too busy having too much fun.

Elizabeth, while dancing with her beloved Phillip, laughed out loud, too. "Phillip, look," Elizabeth confided to her husband while giggling. "There's Ben, dancing with a little girl half his size."

Felicity enjoyed the most of the hilarity of the scene while the gentle breeze played with her wavy red hair.

* * *

Right in the middle of the music, Felicity and Ben got their faces close to each other. Then their young lips met.

While kissing passionately, Ben and Felicity fell to the grassy ground, getting very much carried away with their passion for each other. They still kept kissing.

A large majority of the wedding guests, upon witnessing a spectacle too unseemly in their eyes, became shocked beyond belief over witnessing such an audacious display of passionate romance on the part of both the young lovers. Their family and friends, too, shared that type of shock and awe that the crowd was experiencing, with their "oohs" and "ahhs".

* * *

A/N: Ideas from the toast scene were derived from the beginning of the _Star Trek: Nemesis_ movie.


	5. CHAPTER 4 The Way Home

_**The Wedding Of Felicity And Ben**_

**Written By:**_** Commander Cody CC-2224**_

CHAPTER 4

The Way Home

As evening settled over Williamsburg, the guests dispersed and headed back to their homes. Because the wedding was a great event for the townsfolk, there would be a series of parties to come after the day of the wedding.

Felicity and Ben set off to home. Ben rode Patriot, and Felicity rode her favorite thoroughbred horse Penny.

"So, Felicity," Ben began. "When we get home, are you up to doing with me just like Walter and Sarah suspected we would be doing on our wedding night?"

Felicity giggled rather suggestively over Ben's anticipatory suggestion. "Well, yes, we can, Ben," she agreed. But there was some condition. "But first, the guests," she reminded him rather playfully.

"Who?" Ben asked curiously.

"Don't you remember?" asked Felicity, in mock dismay over Ben forgetting what was to take place in the evening. _And I thought his memory was fine_, she thought to herself. "The Duffmans are coming over to our house. To dine with us."

"All right. Now I remember." He looked at Felicity, grinning lightly. "In your response, you sounded as though I had a memory so atrocious that I needed to be sent to the asylum."

Felicity laughed out loud over Ben's observation of her reply. And Ben didn't need to be divulged any further details. He had encountered Nathaniel with Nan.

"Well, then, after dinner," Ben finalized.

"Maybe late at night," said Felicity, determined to set the date for their man and wife thing in bed.

"Will Nan be sleeping with Nathaniel?" Ben asked rather curiously.

Felicity chuckled over Ben's question, which she sort of perceived as ridiculous. "I don't think Lord and Lady Duffman would approve," she said to him.

The young married couple continued on Duke of Gloucester street at a steady trotting pace.

"So…Lissie…" he said to his now wedded wife. "Anything planned…for our honeymoon?"

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the seeming lameness of the dialogue of this Lissie/Ben wedding story. My overall analysis of this story is that the plot is pretty creative, but much of the dialogue is pretty lame to me. The reason for much of this seeming lameness of dialogue was mainly because I was running out of witty dialogue. Even if the entire story plot is mainly original from my own creative mind, with some ideas derived from other sources, I was hoping to have this Lissie/Ben wedding story to be as close to any of the Firefly TV series episodes. Also, I have to admit that throughout the story there seems to be more showing than telling, and little history of any characters outside the canon of Felicity the American Girl, and the entire story was written based on the presumption that the reader has read the books on the Felicity series, as well as my other stories written by me, as Commander Cody CC-2224. If you have suggestions for improvement, send them to me by email or by Fan Fiction mail.


	6. Bloopers & Outtakes

**_The Wedding Of Felicity And Ben_**

**_Bloopers & Outtakes_**

**Mrs. Merriman: You **_**dream**_** too much, Lissie. From now on during the wedding, less **_**dreaming**_**, more **_**doing**_**. **_**Dong ma?**_

* * *

Behind the line of guests were the Fitchetts, and the Wentworths, former neighbors of Felicity's all dead and corpsified Grandfather on her mother's side.

* * *


	7. Acknowledgments

_**The Wedding Of Felicity And Ben**_

_**Acknowledgments**_

* * *

The Author of this story would like to thank the following persons, places, and things that contributed greatly to the research and the fair historical accuracy of Lissie and Ben's wedding:

pansyphoenix, whose remarkable feminine insight assisted greatly in shaping Felicity and Ben in character in their teenage years, and keeping them in character according to the canon works of Felicity the American Girl

Valerie Tripp and the Felicity series books, with which the character Felicity Merriman and others were directly based on, as well as the events in relation to the life of Felicity the American Girl

Elizabeth McDavid Jones and the three American Girl mystery novels written about Felicity the American Girl, from which some information was directly derived

Colonial Williamsburg, to which its heritage relates to Felicity the American Girl

_The Wedding Ceremony from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer_ – a free liturgical piece that displays how most of the Anglican Christian wedding ceremonies take place in general, and which was crucial in relating the wedding ceremony of Lissie and Ben


	8. TWFB WC Anglican Book Of Common Prayer

_**The Wedding Ceremony from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer**_

* * *

This entirely liturgy outline was taken from a free online source for the purposes of giving readers an idea as to how marriage ceremonies took place back in the 18th century. No copyright infringement is intended, and any work on this liturgy is credited to the original author and/or compiler, whoever it may be. No part of the entire text is altered or abridged.

* * *

The following ceremony is taken from the Church of England Book of Common Prayer. This "Form of Solemnization of Matrimony" has apparently remained almost entirely unchanged from 1662 to the present, though the Church of England did introduce an "Alternative Service Book" in 1980.

_**THE FORM OF SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY**_

_First the Banns of all that are to be married together must be published in the Church three several Sundays, during the time of Morning Service, or of Evening Service, (if there be no Morning Service,) immediately after the second Lesson; the Curate saying after the accustomed manner,_

**I **PUBLISH the Banns of Marriage between _M. _of _____ and _N. _of _____. If any of you know cause, or just impediment, why these two persons should not be joined together in holy Matrimony, ye are to declare it. This is the first [_second_, or _third_] time of asking.

_And if the persons that are to be married dwell in divers Parishes, the Banns must be asked in both Parishes; and the Curate of the one Parish shall not solemnize Matrimony betwixt them, without a Certificate of the Banns being thrice asked, from the Curate of the other Parish._

_At the day and time appointed for solemnization of Matrimony, the persons to be married shall come into the body of the Church with their friends and neighbours: and there standing together, the Man on the right hand, and the Woman on the left, the Priest shall say,_

**D**EARLY beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honourable estate, instituted of God in the time of man's innocency, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church; which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence, and first miracle that he wrought, in Cana of Galilee; and is commended of Saint Paul to be honourable among all men: and therefore is not by any to be enterprised, nor taken in hand, unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly, to satisfy men's carnal lusts and appetites, like brute beasts that have no understanding; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God; duly considering the causes for which Matrimony was ordained.

First, It was ordained for the procreation of children, to be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord, and to the praise of his holy Name.

Secondly, It was ordained for a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication; that such persons as have not the gift of continency might marry, and keep themselves undefiled members of Christ's body.

Thirdly, It was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity. Into which holy estate these two persons present come now to be joined.

Therefore if any man can shew any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace.

_And also, speaking unto the persons that shall be married, he shall say,_

**I **REQUIRE and charge you both, as ye will answer at the dreadful day of judgement when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, that if either of you know any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together in Matrimony, ye do now confess it. For be ye well assured, that so many as are coupled together otherwise than God's Word doth allow are not joined together by God; neither is their Matrimony lawful.

_At which day of Marriage, if any man do alledge and declare any impediment, why they may not be coupled together in Matrimony, by God's Law, or the Laws of this Realm; and will be bound, and sufficient sureties with him, to the parties; or else put in a Caution (to the full value of such charges as the persons to be married do thereby sustain) to prove his allegation: then the solemnization must be deferred, until such time as the truth be tried._

_If no impediment be alledged, then shall the Curate say unto the Man,_

_M. _**W**ILT thou have this Woman to thy wedded Wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour, and keep her in sickness and in health; and,forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?

_The Man shall answer, _I will.

_Then shall the Priest say unto the Woman,_

_N. _**W**ILT thou have this Man to thy wedded Husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, love, honour, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?

_The Woman shall answer, _I will.

_Then shall the Minister say,_

Who giveth this Woman to be married to this Man?

_Then shall they give their troth to each other in this manner._

_The Minister, receiving the Woman at her father's or friend's hands, shall cause the Man with his right hand to take the Woman by her right hand, and to say after him as followeth._

**I **_M. _take thee _N. _to my wedded Wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth.

_Then shall they loose their hands; and the Woman, with her right hand taking the Man by his right hand, shall likewise say after the Minister,_

**I **_N. _take thee _M. _to my wedded Husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth.

_Then shall they again loose their hands; and the Man shall give unto the Woman a Ring, laying the same upon the book with the accustomed duty to the Priest and Clerk. And the Priest, taking the Ring, shall deliver it unto the Man, to put it upon the fourth finger of the Woman's left hand. And the Man holding the Ring there, and taught by the Priest, shall say,_

WITH this Ring I thee wed, with my Body I thee worship, and with all my worldly Goods I thee endow: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

_Then the Man leaving the Ring upon the fourth finger of the Woman's left hand, they shall both kneel down, and the Minister shall say,_

Let us pray.

**O **ETERNAL God, Creator and Preserver of all mankind, Giver of all spiritual grace, the Author of everlasting life; Send thy blessing upon these thy servants, this Man and this Woman, whom we bless in thy Name; that, as Isaac and Rebecca lived faithfully together, so these persons may surely perform and keep the vow and covenant betwixt them made, (whereof this Ring given and received is a token and pledge,) and may ever remain in perfect love and peace together, and live according to thy laws; through

Jesus Christ our Lord. _Amen._

_Then shall the Priest join their right hands together, and say,_

Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder.

_Then shall the Minister speak unto the people._

**F**ORASMUCH as _M. _and _N. _have consented together in holy Wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto have given and pledged their troth either to other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving of a Ring, and by joining of hands; I pronounce that they be Man and Wife together, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

_And the Minister shall add this Blessing._

**G**OD the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve, and keep you; the Lord mercifully with his favour look upon you; and so fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace, that ye may so live together in this life, that in the world to come ye may have life everlasting. _Amen._

_Then the Minister or Clerks, going to the Lord's Table, shall say or sing this Psalm following._

_Beati Omnes _Psalm 128.

**B**LESSED are all they that fear the Lord: and walk in his ways.

For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: O well is thee, and happy shalt thou be.

Thy wife shall be as the fruitful vine: upon the walls of thine house;

Thy children like the olive-branches: round about thy table.

Lo, thus shall the man be blessed: that feareth the Lord.

The Lord from out of Sion shall so bless thee: that thou shalt see Jerusalem in prosperity all thy life long;

Yea, that thou shalt see thy children's children: and peace upon Israel.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

_Or this Psalm_

_Deus misereatur _Psalm 67.

**G**OD be merciful unto us, and bless us: and shew us the light of his countenance, and be merciful unto us.

That thy way may be known upon earth: thy saving health among all nations.

Let the people praise thee, O God: yea, let all the people praise thee.

O let the nations rejoice and be glad: for thou shalt judge the folk righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.

Let the people praise thee, O God: yea, let all the people praise thee.

Then shall the earth bring forth her increase: and God, even our own God, shall give us his blessing.

God shall bless us: and all the ends of the world shall fear him.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen

_The Psalm ended, and the Man and the Woman kneeling before the Lord's Table, the Priest standing at the Table, and turning his face towards them, shall say,_

Lord, have mercy upon us.

_Answer. _Christ, have mercy upon us.

_Minister. _Lord, have mercy upon us.

**O**UR Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil. Amen.

_Minister. _O Lord, save thy servant, and thy handmaid;

_Answer. _Who put their trust in thee.

_Minister. _O Lord, send them help from thy holy place;

_Answer. _And evermore defend them.

_Minister. _Be unto them a tower of strength,

_Answer. _From the face of their enemy.

_Minister. _O Lord, hear our prayer.

_Answer. _And let our cry come unto thee.

_Minister._

**O **GOD of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, bless these thy servants, and sow the seed of eternal lifein their hearts; that whatsoever in thy holy Word they shall profitably learn, they may in deed fulfil thesame. Look, O Lord, mercifully upon them from heaven, and bless them. And as thou didst send thyblessing upon Abraham and Sarah, to their great comfort, so vouchsafe to send thy blessing upon thesethy servants; that they obeying thy will, and alway being in safety under thy protection, may abide in thylove unto their lives' end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. _Amen._

_This Prayer next following shall be omitted, where the Woman is past child-bearing._

**O **MERCIFUL Lord, and heavenly Father, by whose gracious gift mankind is increased; We beseech thee, assist with thy blessing these two persons, that they may both be fruitful in procreation of children, and also live together so long in godly love and honesty, that they may see their children christianly and virtuously brought up, to thy praise and honour; through Jesus Christ our Lord. _Amen._

**O **GOD, who by thy mighty power hast made all things of nothing; who also (after other things set in order) didst appoint, that out of man (created after thine own image and similitude) woman should take her beginning; and, knitting them together, didst teach that it should never be lawful to put asunder those whom thou by Matrimony hadst made one: O God, who hast consecrated the state of Matrimony to such an excellent mystery, that in it is signified and represented the spiritual marriage and unity betwixt Christ and his Church; Look mercifully upon these thy servants, that both this man may love his wife, according to thy Word, (as Christ did love his spouse the Church, who gave himself for it, loving and cherishing it even as his own flesh,) and also that this woman may be loving and amiable, faithful and obedient to her husband; and in all quietness, sobriety, and peace, be a follower of holy and godly matrons. O Lord, bless them both, and grant them to inherit thy everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. _Amen._

_Then shall the Priest say,_

**A**LMIGHTY God, who at the beginning did create our first parents, Adam and Eve, and did sanctify and join them together in marriage; Pour upon you the riches of his grace, sanctify and bless you, that ye may please him both in body and soul, and live together in holy love unto your lives' end. _Amen._

_After which, if there be no Sermon declaring the Duties of Man and Wife, the Minister shall read as followeth._

**A**LL ye that are married, or that intend to take the holy estate of Matrimony upon you, hear what the holy Scripture doth say as touching the duty of husbands towards their wives, and wives towards their husbands.

Saint Paul, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, the fifth Chapter, doth give this commandment to all married men; Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water, by the Word; that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself: for no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church: for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife; and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife, even as himself.

Likewise the same Saint Paul, writing to the Colossians, speaketh thus to all men that are married; Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

Hear also what Saint Peter, the Apostle of Christ, who was himself a married man, saith unto them that are married; Ye husbands, dwell with your wives according to knowledge; giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered.

Hitherto ye have heard the duty of the husband toward the wife. Now likewise, ye wives, hear and learn your duties toward your husbands, even as it is plainly set forth in holy Scripture.

Saint Paul, in the aforenamed Epistle to the Ephesians, teacheth you thus; Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church: and he is the Saviour of the body. Therefore as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. And again he saith, Let the wife see that she reverence her husband.

And in his Epistle to the Colossians, Saint Paul giveth you this short lesson; Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

Saint Peter also doth instruct you very well, thus saying; Ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the Word, they also may without the Word be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible; even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands; even as Sarah obeyed

Abraham, calling him lord; whose daughters ye are as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

_It is convenient that the new-married persons should receive the holy Communion at the time of their Marriage, or at the first opportunity after their Marriage._


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